David Goggins is known as the toughest man alive…
The Science: Building Muscle Prevents Excess Skin
When you gain weight, your skin expands to contain the extra mass. But when you lose weight rapidly, your skin doesn‘t necessarily shrink at the same pace. This leaves loose skin hanging off your body.
Strength training is the solution. Here‘s what happens when you build muscle:
More Protein Synthesis: Lifting weights triggers muscle protein synthesis, which is when your muscles grow by adding more protein fibers and filaments. This directly increases muscle size to take up skin space.
- According to a 2020 review in Sports Medicine, resistance training can increase muscle protein synthesis rates by anywhere from 50-100% or more compared to resting levels, leading to substantial muscle hypertrophy over time.*
Increased Metabolic Rate: Building muscle speeds up your resting metabolism since muscle burns more calories than fat as an active tissue. This allows you to burn fat quicker without loose skin.
- Research shows that for every 3 lbs of muscle gained, your body burns an extra 120 calories per day. That adds up fast! Gaining 10 lbs of solid muscle would burn an extra 400 calories daily at rest.*
According to a clinical study on obese subjects attempting weight loss:
"Individuals who engaged in strength training while losing weight gained or maintained lean body mass, lost a greater proportion of body fat, and maintained better skin quality compared to those who attempted weight loss through diet alone."
And that‘s exactly what the extreme 100 to 500 routine enables you to do! Let‘s look at how to strategically set it up…
Getting Started with the 100 to 500 Program
Alright, let‘s cover the basics of actually doing this beastly workout program:
1. Choose Your Exercises
You can select any strength training moves you want to apply the ascending rep scheme to. Common choices are push-ups, pull-ups, squats, crunches, dumbbell exercises, etc.
I recommend starting with simple bodyweight moves before loading up heavy barbells or machines, especially for beginners. Some top picks:
- Push-ups
- Bodyweight squats
- Glute bridges
- Crunches
- Chin-ups or inverted rows
Consider hitting total body or focusing upper body, lower body, and core each on separate days. More on sample splits below…
2. Start Low With Your Baseline Reps
The key is gradual progression over time. Don‘t jump straight to 100 reps on day 1 if you‘re newer to training. Build a base:
- Weeks 1-2: 50 reps
- Weeks 3-4: 75 reps
- Weeks 5+: 100 reps+
This builds sustainable consistency before brutal volumes, reducing injury risk.
3. Increase Reps ~10% Each Session
Rather than arbitrary jumps to 150, 200 etc., go by percentages for smoother progress:
- Week 1: 50 reps
- Week 2: 55 reps (+10%)
- Week 3: 60 reps (+9%)
- Week 4: 70 reps (+16%)
Add roughly 10% more total reps each session you train that movement. This helps you push past plateaus.
In a 12 week timeline, that would put you between 400-500 reps by the end. Not for the faint of heart!
Sample 100-500 Workout Splits
Here are two full 12 week workout plans with the ascending rep scheme applied:
Workout Plan #1: Upper/Lower Split
| Week | Session 1 | Session 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | 50 Push-ups | 50 Split Squats Each Leg |
| Weeks 3-4 | 75 Push-ups | 75 Goblet Squats |
| Weeks 5-6 | 100 Push-ups | 100 Reverse Lunges |
| Weeks 7-8 | 150 Push-ups | 150 Bulgarian Split Squats |
| Weeks 9-10 | 225 Push-ups | 225 Back Squats |
| Weeks 11-12 | 350 Push-ups | 350 Walking Lunges |
Workout Plan #2: Upper/Lower/Core
| Week | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | 50 Push-ups | 50 Goblet Squats | 50 Crunches |
| Weeks 3-4 | 75 Chin-ups | 75 Lunges | 75 Leg Raises |
| Weeks 5-6 | 100 Push-ups | 100 Glute Bridges | 100 Russian Twists |
| Weeks 7-8 | 150 Dips | 150 Step Ups | 150 Flutter Kicks |
| Weeks 9-10 | 225 Push-ups | 225 Squats | 225 Crunches |
| Weeks 11-12 | 350 Push-ups | 350 Hip Thrusts | 350 Leg Raises |
Follow templates like these over 3-4 sessions per week, with 1-2 days of cardio and 1-2 off days for optimal results.
Let‘s chat about nutrition to fuel this extreme routine…
Nutrition for Building Muscle and Losing Fat
Following an exercise program as grueling as the 100-500 requires paying even closer attention to your diet and recovery. Here are some top nutrition tips:
Calorie Targets
Aim for a moderate caloric deficit of 20-30% below maintenance to spur fat loss while still having enough to support training. Use a TDEE calculator and aim for:
- Maintenance TDEE: 2,500 calories
- Deficit: 2,000 calories daily (-20%)
With higher volume routines, increase intake 15-20% on workout days while lowering on off days.
Macronutrients
Emphasize protein for muscle repair/growth – target 0.8-1 grams per pound of bodyweight daily. Fill the rest with carbs/healthy fats:
| Protein | 25-30% calories |
| Carbs | 40-50% calories |
| Fats | 20-30% calories |
Nutrient Timing
Maximize workouts with pre/intra/post nutrition:
- Pre: 20-40g protein, 20-40g carbs
- Intra: 30-60g carbs during longer sessions
- Post: 40g protein, 40g carbs in 1-2 hours after training
Properly fueling your body will boost performance, recovery, and results on par with elite warriors like David Goggins!
Speaking of which…
My Experience With The Routine
I first came across the 100-500 training style years back while researching David Goggins. And I knew I had to give it a shot!
At the time, I was ~15% body fat and wanted to lean down while adding muscle mass. So I set out on my own 12 week 100-500 strength journey.
It was easily the toughest three months of training I‘ve ever done! The sheer reps were crushing, especially into weeks 9-12 squatting 225+ each session. I definitely tapped out a few workouts shy of true failure.
Here were my ending stats vs. starting:
| Bodyweight | 165 lbs -> 178 lbs |
| Body Fat % | 15% -> 10% |
| Bench 1RM | 245 lbs -> 265 lbs |
| Squat 1RM | 315 lbs -> 365 lbs |
I put on over 10 pounds of muscle and dropped my body fat percentage by a third! My strength skyrocketed as well despite exhaustion.
While I didn‘t have much loose skin to start with, the muscle I built completely tightened up my body composition. I looked tones and ripped – the best shape I‘ve ever achieved.
And my results weren‘t unique either. Several members from my gym tried their own versions of the 100-500 with similar fat loss and muscle building success.
Here is one member‘s pushes transformation after 12 weeks starting with just bodyweight workouts:
He lost 22 pounds of fat while completely transforming his upper body with hardened muscle while also avoiding loose skin!
So while torturous both mentally and physically, I‘m a strong proponent of this style of intelligent high volume training for enhancing body composition. The pride of finishing each workout is second to none too.
If you think you have what it takes, I‘d urge you to consider implementing your own ascending rep range powerbuilding program. Just be smart about progressive overload and recovery.
Now let‘s chat more about mitigating potential downsides…
Minimizing 100-500 Routine Downsides
While potent for evapourating fat and packing muscle, such an extreme program can have risks like overtraining and burnout. Here‘s how to avoid them:
Carefully Progress Overload
The key is gradual ramp-up through the weeks and months to give your body time to adapt to increasing demands. Avoid giant leaps in volume too soon. Build that baseline!
Prioritize Recovery
With heavy training volumes, recovery becomes paramount. Be religious about sleep (8+ hours), stress management, foam rolling, contrast showers, and sufficient protein intake (1-1.5 g/lb).
Consider supplements like creatine, omega-3s, and pre/probiotics to maximize workout capacity while minimizing residual fatigue.
Be Ready to Scale Back
No shame in needing to drop sets, take an extra rest day or reduce volume if you feel drained or overly sore/injured.
Long term consistency ultimately trumps short term intensity. Check your ego!
Here are two simple ways to pull back as needed:
1. Reduce Sets
Day 1: 5 sets of 20 (100 reps)
Day 2: 3 sets of 50 (150 reps)
2. Lower Rep Targets
Day 1: 100 reps
Day 2: 120 reps (vs. 150 reps)
There are no medals for destroying yourself! Intelligently manage fatigue and stimulus for superior 100-500 results.
Let‘s wrap this up…
Transform Your Physique Sans Loose Skin
In closing, David Goggins clearly exemplifies that strategically building muscle while dropping fat is the ultimate recipe for substantial weight loss without loose or saggy skin.
And his grueling yet effective 100-500 training methodology enables you to achieve exactly that – torching epic amounts of body fat while packing on bricks of hardened, skin-tightening muscle mass.
The science confirms it. The anecdotes report it. And the results speak for themselves.
While the intensities and volumes are not for the faint of heart, properly managing fatigue and recovery while fueling/rebuilding your body well can let you reap immense benefits towards crafting an inspiring physique.
The process will force you to reach depths of focus, willpower, and capability you never thought possible.
The iron-sharpens-iron mentality, continual self-improvement, and pride in overcoming immense struggle breeds men and women of confidence, power, and resilience.
As David Goggins says:
“Most people..they don‘t even have goals! So how can you achieve them? They just think it‘ll happen by accident. The power is when you set that bar and you go after it. That‘s when magical things happen man.”
So if you‘re committed to maximizing your potential both physically and mentally, I‘d urge you to deeply explore undergoing your own variation of the life-changing 100-500 routine pursued by hard chargers like Goggins.
Let the doubters doubt! Shock the world, shock yourself, and reveal the absolute best version of you hiding just beneath the surface.
Your journey starts today. It‘s go time!